


Sip up 'til you're tipsy, night's young. Searching for a feeling, big fun

by BriaPia



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: A Plant Wrote This, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hospitals, M/M, Major Character Injury, The night of the banquet, but nothing serious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 11:25:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17324144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriaPia/pseuds/BriaPia
Summary: As Yuuri slowly opened his eyes he was faced with a white, pristine room- a hospital room to be more precise. “Where am I, what am I doing here?”, he asked to himself, his mind still a little numb from just waking up but slowly working itself into a panic. The beeping next to Yuuri became faster as he tried to recall what had happened last night. He remembered attending the banquet, the feeling of embarrassment and frustration that came to him as soon as he entered the room full of other more successful and deserving people. He didn't talk to anyone, that was for sure, since he immediately walked towards-A canon divergent AU where the night of the banquet had a different end to it.





	Sip up 'til you're tipsy, night's young. Searching for a feeling, big fun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mizuiro_no_Yume](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mizuiro_no_Yume/gifts).



> I’m finally able to post my secret Santa gift, so sorry for the wait! I do hope you like it :3 
> 
> Thank you so much to [Tasha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/takeitoffhemmo) and [Anna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingAnya) for their betaing and advice, it really helped me a lot ^^

The first moments after Yuuri woke up didn’t feel wrong or different at all, quite the opposite actually. His body felt like floating, as light as passing clouds on a spring day. It was when he started to take notice of everything around him that he knew something was off. For starters, his bed was a little too stiff too- his hotel room was not the most expensive one, but his bed was actually quite comfortable for the price he paid. Next, there was the slight pressure on his index finger, when Yuuri tried to move it he definitely felt more weight added to it. There was also the continuous beeping next to him, quiet and unassuming, but constant nonetheless. 

As Yuuri slowly opened his eyes he was faced with a white, pristine room- a hospital room to be more precise. _Where am I, what am I doing here?_ , he asked to himself, his mind still a little numb from just waking up but slowly working itself into a panic. The beeping next to Yuuri became faster as he tried to recall what had happened last night. He remembered attending the banquet, the feeling of embarrassment and frustration that came to him as soon as he entered the room full of other more successful and deserving people. He didn't talk to anyone, that was for sure, since he immediately walked towards-

That was when his mind came to a sudden halt, he walked directly towards the cocktail’s table, he… he started to drink as much champagne as he could muster and then… nothing. He remembered nothing. _Oh god, what have I done!?_ Yuuri chastised himself, feeling as dread started taking over his whole body, he probably must have gotten drunk and finished the job of utterly humiliating himself in front of the other skaters, his sponsors, in front of Viktor. And for what? All the years of sweat and tears given to the ice only for a media smile and an offer of a picture thrown at him. 

It was not worth it, Vicchan was not worth this. 

A sob escaped from Yuuri’s mouth, his throat closing in while his heart clenched painfully. Remembering his beloved dog was still so difficult, the guilt eating him completely every time he thought about how his Vicchan must have diligently waited for him for more than five years to come back, to be held once more as Yuuri coed at him and rubbed behind his ears. Now that would never become truth.

As another sob was about to escape, Yuuri felt something- someone- stirring under him. A hooded figure was pressing his head right next to his hip, he was not facing Yuuri so he wasn’t able to figure out who the man was. Fear entered his system once again, this was clearly not Celestino, but here in Sochi he didn’t have any acquaintances, who else would be waiting next to him? The moment the hooded man turned around Yuuri felt as if his heart had leap out of his chest. Viktor- _The_ Viktor Nikiforov- was right in front of him. Messy hair and bags under his eyes, he flashed him a smile full of glee, so different from the media smile he had offered to him not too long ago. 

Why was he here? Was this an hallucination his mind created while high on meds? Looking like that, so different from the pristine person that Viktor usually presented himself to the media, was something taken straight out of Yuuri’s most personal and domestic fantasies.

 _I still must be dreaming,_ Yuuri thought. Because there was no way that the man that hadn’t even known who he was a few days prior was looking at him with such softness as he delicately took his hand on his. _Wait- What!?_

“Yuuri,” Viktor spoke his name with such reverence that Yuuri’s mind stopped working immediately, “You’re finally awake, I was so worried about you,” he continued, totally failing to notice how Yuuri’s heart began throbbing faster and faster, if the monitor next to them both had anything to show on the matter. “Are you comfortable right now? Do you need me to bring a nurse or a doctor?”

“I- I…” He stuttered, feeling how heat started pooling up his cheeks and neck. 

Before Yuuri could say anything at all a nurse came into the room, saving him from saying anything embarrassing to Viktor. Briefly, Yuuri thought how this nurse deserved a raise immediately. 

“Good afternoon, mister Katsuki. It seems that you’re finally awake, let’s check on your vitals, shall we?” she spoke with a thick accent as she came close to look at his vitals and his hospital chart. After she finished with the examination, she continued, “Everything looks good so far, just a slight dehydration and a sprained ankle; nothing that a few weeks of rest and painkillers can’t take care of.”

It occurred to Yuuri that up until this moment he hadn't actually taken a look at himself to assess if anything was wrong with him. He looked down at his feet and there it was, slightly elevated was his right leg wrapped in bandages right in between his foot and calf.

“How did it-” he gasped, not being able to finish the sentence. If Yuuri thought he had blown up his career before, now it definitely was a fact. A sprained ankle only weeks before nationals after a disastrous performance at an international competition was a sure way to end his competitive career. If the thought of maybe still competing at nationals had briefly crossed Yuuri’s mind now it was completely obliterated. He couldn’t stop the tears of frustration once they started falling from his eyes. How had he managed to fuck up this badly?

“Oh dear, Yuuri, please don’t cry,” Viktor tried to soothe him as he tightened his hold on Yuuri’s hand, “I’m really awful at this, please tell me what can I do to make it better.”

Yuuri just lowered his sight, shaking his head and gritting his teeth, He didn’t want anyone seeing him like this. Just wishing to be left alone. 

“Vy ne protiv ostavit' nas nenadolgo? Obeshchayu, chto pozovu vas, kogda yemu stanet luchshe,*” Viktor addressed the nurse. Right after that, the nurse nodded and proceeded to leave the room.

Well, at least that gave Yuuri a little bit more privacy, not enough to be comfortable crying, but at least he was going to be able to calm down a bit without the pressure of inconveniencing the nurse on her duties. 

“Thanks,” the younger man whispered, voice rough from both drowsiness and crying. 

“It’s no problem at all,” Viktor answered immediately.

After that they both fell into silence, waiting for Yuuri to finally gather himself enough for a proper conversation. He still had so many doubts about what was happening and judging by how Viktor was acting towards him maybe the other man would have the answers Yuuri so desperately needed. 

“Viktor,” he whispered, lifting up his gaze to look at the Russian man. Viktor was looking at him attentively. Yuuri noticed that the skater wanted to say something, yet he was still waiting for Yuuri to speak first. Taking a deep breath he asked what he had been so afraid to, “Viktor, how did I get in here?”

Something flashed on Viktor’s eyes, but it disappeared too fast for Yuuri to figure out what it was. Slowly, Viktor flashed him an easy smile that was probably meant to appease him, but Yuuri had seen the way Viktor smiled at him the moment he woke up, and this was not that heart-shaped smile, this was the media smile that he had seen Viktor give so many times at interviews and photo shoots. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed somehow. 

“Oh, Yuuri, you silly thing,” Viktor spoke, in a too syrupy tone. Yuuri couldn’t help but to feel angry at how he sounded, too patronizing, as if he were a child that didn’t know better, “Don’t you remember after the banquet?” 

“No, I don’t actually,” was his curt reply. Yuuri realized Viktor was still holding one of his hand with his own, the other just slightly trembling before he placed it on his lap out of Yuuri’s sight, “Please, just tell me how did I sprain my ankle and how come you are here?” 

Viktor’s whole demeanor changed then, he hunched a little over himself, shoulders dropping as he took a quick look at Yuuri’s lifted leg; the sadness that came over him was easily recognizable by Yuuri this time. 

“I’m sorry, it was my fault,” he said voice full of regret, “Do you… do you really not remember anything?” 

Yuuri just shook his head.

Letting out a deep breath Viktor looked at him once more, “The doctors told me and Celestino that you were really drunk, I just- I guess I was just still clinging to the hope that you actually were going to remember last night.”

Not knowing what else to do Yuuri squeezed Viktor’s hand to prompt him to keep going with his story. It was just as he had thought, he had gotten drunk last night, but somehow he had managed to talk to Viktor enough so that the other man was here with him, because… no stranger would accompany a random person to a hospital, right? Nothing really made sense. 

“What if you start from the beginning?”

“Well, last night I thought it was going to be another boring banquet gala. I noticed you were drinking alone next to the food tables, but you looked so miserable that well… it didn’t look like you wanted any company,” he said, shrugging. He was not wrong, Yuuri thought that if anyone had come to him to try and talk he would have probably left the room. 

“So then an hour or so must have passed when _you_ out of nowhere came up to where I was to challenge Yuri into a dance-off of all things,” Viktor continued, a real smile once again on his face as he remembered the events. Yuuri, on the other hand, couldn't help to feel a little embarrassed about it. But if Viktor was recalling them with such apparent fondness, maybe it hadn’t been so bad, so he smiled in return.

“You were the indisputable winner, by the way, also the life of the party, everyone seemed to have so much fun when you started breakdancing. Then when you won or as Yuri said, _‘I was too bored so that’s why I let the pig win’_ , you started dancing with other people, we even danced together several times. I don’t think I can remember the last time I had so much fun at a banquet.”

Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at this, it was almost surreal. _Him_ , the life of the the party? Being able to make Viktor have an amazing time? If it wasn't because Viktor himself was retelling what had happened yesterday, he for sure would have deemed the conversation a surreal dream. 

“You can laugh all you want, but I'm telling the truth,” Viktor said, full of mischief. “But wait! It’s not over yet, the best part was when Chris, out of nowhere if I might add, placed a pole in the middle of the banquet, you were a sight to behold.”

“What?!” Yuuri screeched, laughter coming to a sudden halt. Forget what he just said, everything had been so terribly bad. Did he really started pole dancing _in the middle of the banquet!?_

“Don't feel bad, I’m sure everyone enjoyed watching you. I know I certainly did. Besides, there weren’t many people left when you guys started the show,” Viktor finished with a wink. 

Yuuri just groaned, pressing his hands against his face to hide his utter embarrassment. 

“Oh, come on Yuuri~,” Viktor said, taking a hold of both of his hands as he tried to pull them away from Yuuri’s face. “Don’t feel embarrassed, it was amazing!”

“Okay, okay, so I just danced a lot. We leave it at that and never speak of the P dance ever again, okay?” Once Viktor nodded Yuuri continued, “So then I imagine something must have happened for me to end up here and not with a massive hangover at my hotel room.”

Viktor’s expression sobered up immediately, he grimaced for a few seconds before he spoke again, “Yes, and really, Yuuri, I’m so sorry for that.” He took a deep breath to then continue, “After you guys finished, there was almost no one left in the room, so we sort of chatted for a while before you said you were really sleepy and wanted to go to bed. When I asked your room number you said you couldn’t remember so I figured I could just let you sleep in my room for the night. We were just walking there when I realized that for us to arrive there we needed to pass through the lobby, the press normally stays there to see if they can catch a photo of me or the other Russians skaters and I just didn’t want them to take any. I knew you were drunk, just not how much, so I asked you if you were going to be able to go down the backstairs with me.”

Stairs in Yuuri’s condition? That sure didn’t sound good, even he was dreading to hear what Viktor had to say next. 

“We were just walking downstairs when you tripped, and I… I was not fast enough to catch you. After that you sort of, lost your consciousness, I guess? The doctors said you didn't hit your head so it probably was all the drinks you had, but still, I should have known better. I called an ambulance and Yakov so that he would tell Celestino.” 

“So that’s why I ended up here,” Yuuri muttered, more to himself than to Viktor.

“Yes, and again, I can't really say this enough, but I’m so sorry. Let me make it up to you!”

“Y-you don't need to,” Yuuri replied hastily. “It was an accident and you said so yourself, you didn’t even know how drunk I was.”

“But your ankle, and your nationals-”

“I don’t think I’ll compete at nationals. To be honest, after all that happened in this competition I don’t think I’ll keep competing at all,” Yuuri stated, clearly taken Viktor aback. 

To be honest, he was actually surprised to admit that too. He had thought about it, of course, but to actually say it out loud, it placed a sense of finality where in the past it was just a fleeting thought born from the darkest parts of his anxious mind. 

“You, what-?” Viktor spoke almost breathless.

“Is just that… I have sacrificed so much of my life for this sport and- I don’t think it’s worth it anymore, not after the GPF, especially not after Vicchan.”

“Vicchan?”

“He is- was my dog,” Yuuri could feel the tears threatening to fall once again, pooling into his eyes as he remembered his beloved dog, “I found out about him passing right before the free skate, and I just couldn’t. I left Japan five years ago, never coming back home even when I traveled back for several competitions. I never got the chance to tell Vicchan goodbye, or to pet him one last time.”

“Oh, Yuuri. That’s awful! You must have felt like the world was ending the moment you found out.”

Yuuri was just able to nod. If he spoke anything else, he knew he was going to start crying once again and who knew when would he stop this time. 

“But,” Viktor continued softly as he caressed Yuuri’s cheek, those blue eyes so warm and full of understatement, “You can still honor Vicchan and his memory through your skating. So that he can see, wherever he is right now, how much you loved him.”

A humorless laugh escaped Yuuri’s lips, “Even if I wanted to, nationals are in just a few weeks. I have a sprained ankle and as much as I wish for it, that’s not going away. If I don't place first there I doubt the federation will send me to Continents, even less to Worlds.” 

“I can help you with that! Please, let me help you, Yuuri.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve dealt with injuries before in the middle of the season. I know how to help you with your routines, besides Yubileyny has the best physicians the country has to offer. We can talk to Yakov and Celestino, I’m sure we can arrange something for you to stay here in Russia until your nationals,” Viktor talked fast and almost desperate, as if trying to convince Yuuri with all his might to stay here, to keep competing. 

It was so much information to process all at once. Viktor wanted to help Yuuri, he was willing to talk to their coaches, to get him the medical help he would need. Was it all because of a sense of misplaced guilt? It seemed far fetched that someone would actually do that only because of that feeling. Was there something else Viktor wasn’t telling him?

“Why would you do that for me?” Yuuri asked, even as his brain was screaming at him to stop. His idol was offering him a once in a lifetime opportunity and he was going to question it? He should just take it and be quiet about it. 

“You have so much potential Yuuri,” Viktor said, giving him a soft, private smile, “It would be a shame to let all your talent go to waste. Besides,” this time his smile turned mischievous, just like it had before, when he was recalling the events that transpire at the banquet, “I take the offerings other people make me quite seriously, you know? And you did ask me to be your coach. Now, I was planning to actually take upon your offer next season, but seeing as how things stand now, I think I can set forward that decision a little bit.”

Yuuri almost sputtered, he _asked_ Viktor to be his coach? And the other man was actually considering agreeing with it? Was he in a parallel universe? No way that the last few minutes of the conversation actually happened. 

“What do you say, Yuuri?” Viktor asked, lifting his hand towards Yuuri as if waiting for the younger man to take it.

And, honestly, what could Yuuri even say to that? He had nothing to lose really, and everything to gain. If there was one time in his life when he needed to take that leap of faith was right now. And Viktor, this Viktor with his sense of humor and his heart-shaped smile, was so different than the media-Viktor he had grown accustomed to see. Yuuri wanted to get to know this man that sat right in front of him. 

Reaching for Viktor’s hand Yuuri replied with the only answer he could, “Yes.”

The kiss that brushed into his knuckles was more than enough to tell Yuuri he was making a good decision. More so when it was accompanied with the look that Viktor gave to him, full of excitement and glee. 

“Well then, Yuuri. Ready to make history?”

**Author's Note:**

> The Russian part said: “Would you mind leaving us alone for a little while? I promise I’ll call you back once he feels better.” Thank you so much to [Dyeingdoll](https://twitter.com/dyeingdoll) for the help with the translation. 
> 
> I’ll really really really greatly appreciate kudos and coments. 
> 
> You can find me in several places now!  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/BriaPia_) \- [Tumblr](https://briapia95.tumblr.com) \- [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/briapia)  
> So don’t hesitate if you want to say hi!!


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